MLB Player News

Barlow gave up one run on two hits and zero walks while striking out one in one inning Saturday against the Pirates.

He came in for the eighth inning with the Royals up four and created a save situation that Greg Holland converted in the ninth inning. Barlow is clearly in the setup mix in Kansas City, but Holland, who has three saves in the last four days, is the top closing option.

Hernandez gave up three earned runs on three hits and zero walks while striking out two in three innings Saturday against the Pirates.

All three hits were solo homers. The 23-year-old pitching prospect had a 1.42 ERA in 6.1 innings (two appearances) out of the bullpen this season, with this marking his first big-league start. He has good stuff, boasting a mid-90s fastball with good sink that can touch 99 mph, but Hernandez had never pitched above Low-A prior to this season, so we shouldn't worry about the results. He is getting opportunities due to his standing on the 40-man roster. Given his age, lack of high-level experience and status on the 40-man, Hernandez's development is being rushed a little. If it doesn't work out in the rotation, he has the stuff to get high-leverage outs in the bullpen.

Suter worked three scoreless frames while taking a no-decision in his start Saturday in the Brewers' 4-2 loss to the Cubs. He struck out six and gave up a base hit and no walks.

The Brewers summoned Suter to start on short notice after Brett Anderson (hip) was scratched from the outing. Considering the circumstances, Suter likely fared even better than Milwaukee could have hoped, as he induced 10 swinging strikes in just 46 pitches. Milwaukee is listing Anderson as day-to-day for the time being, but if he's forced to miss more time, Suter could get the chance to stretch out a little more and make another start or two before the regular season draws to a close.

Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth inning to notch his second save of the season Saturday in the Cubs' 4-2 win over the Brewers. He gave up two hits and struck out one in the 26-pitch appearance.

With scoreless outings in 10 of his last 11 appearances to go with a 22:7 K:BB in 10.1 innings over that span, Kimbrel appears to have re-entered manager David Ross' circle of trust. While he wasn't at his sharpest Saturday, Kimbrel did well to limit the damage after giving up back-to-back singles to kick off the bottom of the ninth. Jeremy Jeffress still looks like Chicago's top end-game option with a sub-1.00 ERA and seven saves in eight chances on the season, but Kimbrel's strong form of late may have allowed him to move ahead of Rowan Wick on the closer depth chart.

Hader gave up four runs on four hits and zero walks while striking out one Saturday against the Cubs. He recorded his second loss and second blown save of the season.

Hader entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with the Brewers up 2-0 and eventually served up a three-run home run to Jason Heyward. Ildemaro Vargas took him yard after that to give the Cubs an insurance run. Hader has provided the strikeouts (21 in 13.2 innings) and the saves (nine), but his ratios, particularly his 4.61 ERA, are a good example of the pitfalls of paying up for a top reliever in a 60-game season. Hader has been particularly bad lately; he had not allowed a run this season prior to Aug. 29 but has given up runs in three of his six appearances since then.

Andriese earned the save against Colorado on Saturday, pitching a perfect inning and striking out one batter.

With usual closer Ty Buttrey having been deployed in the 10th inning, the Angels turned to Andriese to shut the door on the Rockies after jumping to a three-run lead. The right-hander was up to the task, needing only seven pitches to nail down the save. Andriese hasn't been all that effective for the Angels this season -- he has a 5.40 ERA over 10 outings -- so he'll likely resume his low-leverage role moving forward.

Barria gave up two earned runs over 5.1 innings against Colorado on Saturday, surrendering five hits and two walks while striking out two. He did not factor in the decision.

Barria was far from dominant in the start, but he kept the Angels in the game by limiting Colorado to all singles and only two runs. While the two strikeouts were his fewest this year, he set a season high by retiring 16 batters. Barria hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in five starts since joining the rotation, though he has yet to factor in a decision. He'll look to get into the win column at home against Texas on Friday.

Jansen (3-1) blew the save and took the loss and against the Astros on Saturday, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits without retiring a batter.

Jansen had no problem getting the ball over the plate in the disastrous outing -- 18 of his 21 pitches went for strikes -- but he was unable to locate his cutter, allowing Houston to scatter base hits at will. Los Angeles stuck with him in the hope that he'd be able to rediscover his early-season dominance, but the veteran never found his form and left the mound without recording an out. After an effective outing Sept. 4, Jansen had a superb 1.06 ERA and had surrendered only two earned runs on the season. Since that time, he has given up eight runs (six earned) in 1.1 frames to push his ERA all the way up to 3.93. The organization is likely to give their longtime closer a chance to get back on track over the final few weeks of the regular season, though there could be some urgency to ensure that Jansen doesn't carry over his recent struggles to the postseason.

Pressly picked up the save against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing two hits in a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one.

Pressly received the opportunity to close out the game after Houston rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth inning. He gave up a single and a double but emerged unscathed thanks to a double play and a strikeout. The right-hander has proven to be a reliable closer after taking over for Roberto Osuna (elbow) in early August; since blowing his first save after assuming ninth-inning duties, Pressly has converted eight of 10 save chances while registering a 2.45 ERA and 20:4 K:BB over 14.2 innings.

Melancon secured the save Saturday against the Nationals after allowing two hits with one strikeout and one walk during a scoreless ninth inning.

The veteran right-hander flirted with disaster as he allowed a pair of singles to begin the frame, but he was able to escape unscathed with a strikeout, a groundout, an intentional walk and a flyout. Melancon is 10-for-11 in save chances and has a 2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB across 17.2 innings this season.